Introducing The Tutima M2 Seven Seas

Glashütte watches. Restrained. Understated. Quiet. Very serious German watchmaking indeed. And then there are Tutima’s new diving watches. Yes, still that serious watchmaking but now with a distinctly brighter approach. Tutima has just released its two new M2 Seven Seas models, both with dials that would give your pet chameleon an identity crisis. There are two colours – nuclear sunset orange and vapourised canary yellow – and at 44mm diameter, neither is going to be a shrinking violet nor a challenge to read.

Despite the very unrestrained colours, the M2 Seven Seas is in traditional territory for the Glashütte watchmaker. They’ve been making a name for themselves with robust, functional watches for years. They produced Flieger chronographs to the Luftwaffe’s exacting specification in 1941, powered by the UROFA 59 calibre, and the German army’s pilots wear the M2 NATO chronograph today. There’s the later Military Chronograph with the wonderfully solid Lemania 5100 tractor engine inside. The M2 series of watches is carrying on the tradition but in Titanium – so despite that 44mm size, you won’t feel as though you’re weight training every time you check the time.

Despite being light, the case is certainly well-protected.  The crown has shoulders like a Welsh prop forward.  There’s a screw-down crown and a screw-in back giving you a stonking 50atm (that’s 498m deep, give or take a few centimeters) of water-resistance. The pool at your local baths will feel like a puddle to the Tutima. Its depth tolerance is aided by an anti-reflective sapphire crystal that’s 3mm thick, so it should survive pretty much whatever you throw it at without too many worries.  As you’d expect, the bezel is uni-directional and doubles very usefully as a basic timer without the need for the exactness of a chronograph.

Inside the case is, in common with other watches in the M2 series, Tutima’s gold-sealed self-winding Cal. 330 movement (base ETA 2836). It’s simple with minimal frills, but none the worse for it. You get central seconds, hours and minutes and a day and date at a very traditional 3 o’clock.  The movement runs at 28,800 bph and will happily keep on doing so for 38 hours without intervention. Spares and servicing shouldn’t be an issue either.

To keep the whole plot on your wrist you can have a matching titanium bracelet.  But why have a grey old titanium band for a watch like this? That’s like specifying your new Aventador in beige. Much better to choose the option of a matching rubber/kevlar combination strap.  These pick up the relevant dial colour with Their stitching and their inside surfaces are certainly a cracking good match for the watch.

It’s not likely that many M2s will see hardcore diving action, but that’s not really the point. The things that make a diving watch capable at depth are exactly the same things that are useful in everyday life; ease of reading in light or dark, robustness, waterproofing and an almost complete lack of worry about breaking anything. You’re probably not going to wear it with a tux, but for an everyday, do-anything, go-anywhere watch that’ll make you smile every time you look at it, it’s a bit of a beauty.

The Tutima M2 Seven Seas is priced from $1,900 on kevlar strap, and $2,300 on a titanium bracelet. Tutima.